Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Pedometer Types

By Henry Calhoun

With exercising becoming more popular and being done by more people, the popularity of related gadgets is also on the rise. One of the gadgets getting a lot of attention is the pedometer, which is nothing other than an inexpensive tool that tracks how far you walk in a given time frame.

Pedometers are usually the size of a credit card or pager and dependent upon the specific type, can perform a variety of functions. In addition to tracking how far someone walks, they may also count steps, convert those steps into miles, and tell you how many calories have been burned. The more advanced systems will allow you to save your data for several days or weeks so you may track your improvement.

Despite its small size, the pedometer is a large motivator. Just knowing how far you walked on a particular day or the number of steps you have taken can give you that extra push to do more the next time. People who wear a pedometer often try to find ways to improve their results each day, even if it is just going a few more steps each day. This is done by taking the stairs instead of an elevator or walking one more time around the block, just to mention a couple of examples. No matter how you do it or what you do, it will all add up and increase the total for the day.

Which pedometer you choose be sure it is one to suit your needs or what it is you require it to do. Do you want to convert steps to miles or how many steps you have taken. Perhaps it is how many calories you burnt taking all those steps or all of the above. Another thing to keep in mind is that being expensive does not necessarily mean better.

It is important also to realize once you have purchased your pedometer it may take a bit of getting used to. You may have to practice a little with it, so it may get used to you as well as you used to it. It needs to know how long your stride is, the pace that you walk at, what part of your body is best to wear it on. Once these quirks are ironed out, it will be able to track your stride very accurately.

Now that you have your new pedometer set and ready to go, it is time to set some goals for yourself. If it has been awhile since you have exercised, it is important that you consult your physician first and take things slowly. Start with either a certain number of steps per day or a certain distance per day. Once you can reach that goal with ease, you can keep lengthening it to challenge yourself.

Fortunately, there are many great ways to increase the number of steps taken while wearing a pedometer. When parking, just park further from the entrance than you normally would or during a lunch break walk around the office building. Those are just a couple of examples. One of the best tips is to just take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever you can. If you think about it a bit, you will most likely come up with many more ways of increasing the number of steps taken.

Walking is an inexpensive way to exercise every day. All you need to do is put on a pair of comfortable sneakers, clip your pedometer to your waist or shoe, and start moving. Pedometers though small and inexpensive can be your motivation while you are walking and help you reach your fitness goals. What are you waiting for? Go purchase a pedometer and getting walking today, you'll be so glad you did.

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